Inspirational Weekly Parsha Insights and anecdotes of Rabbi Schwartz and his never dull family as they acclimate and absorb into their new home in Karmiel Israel, having made Aliyah- August 2010

Karmiel

Our view of the Galile

Friday, November 30, 2012

No Jew Will Be (or eat) Left Behind- Vayishlach 2012/5773

Insights and Inspiration
from the
Holy Land
from
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz"Your friend in Karmiel"

November 30th 2012 -Volume 3, Issue 8 -16th
of Kislev 5773

Parshat
Vayishlach

No Jew Shall Be (or Eat) Left Behind

(sorry couldn’t resist… I love my titles J)

Wednesday
night was the first time in a long time that I did not dream of Crusaders. I
didn’t dream about Philistines, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Umayyad or Abbasid
dynasties or the Mamluks either. My second final exam (an oxymoron, I know) for
my 2 year tour guiding course is over. {check
out new feature below of a question of the week from my exam-to see if you
could pass it} One left to go. From here on
the Seleucids can return to once again being associated with potato latkas and
here in Israel jelly doughnuts on Chanukah. It was a nice peaceful sleep. All
of the historic empires and enemies who have sought to destroy us from time
immemorial and who continued to torture me from their graves as I crammed and
studied non-stop for weeks, disappeared. I dreamed of hills and valleys, of
sunrises over Masada and sunsets in the Golan of peace and music once again in
the streets of Jerusalem… And then my three year old kicked me in the nose as
he climbed into my bed. Oh well… it was nice while it lasted. I guess I had to
get up and study for my oral exam anyways…sigh.

Yes, our
people have certainly had our fair share of battles, wars and struggles for
survival. Perhaps more than any nation on earth. When we recite at our Pesach
Seder- She’bichol Dor Va’Dor Omdim Aleinu Li’Çhaloseinu- That in each
generation they have rose up against us to destroy us- Vi’Hakadosh Baruch Hu
Matzileinu Mi’Yadum- and the Holy One Blessed Be He has saved us from their
hands, we know it’s true. It is one of the constants in Jewish history. As the
famous joke goes- What are Jewish holidays all about? They tried to kill us… we
survived… let’s eat. It makes sense. After all what better way to commemorate
our survival then by eating, drinking and of course with our belly’s full and
spirits raised to than turn to our Father in heaven and thank Him for never
abandoning us. L’Chaim! Bi’Tayavon!

This of
course leads us to our question of the week on the Parsha on what seems to be a
decidedly un-jewish eternal response to one of our most historic battles. The
Torah, continuing from last week, tells us of our forefather Yaakov as he
leaves Charan and his uncle Lavan, to meet his angry brother Esau who is coming
with 400 men to fulfill his decades old blood-wish to kill him for “stealing” the
blessings of his birthright (which of course Yaakov legitimately bought-but
since when have the facts ever made a difference when it comes to our right to
the holy land… some things never change). As he goes forward to meet him, the
Torah tells us that he went back across the Yabok river, having forgotten some
vessels there and is left alone, when he is confronted by the angel of Esau.
Now it’s bad enough having to deal with your angry brother- but a wrestling
match with a Divine being, where the dust of their feet, according to the
medrash, kicked up to the heavens, is an entirely different story.The conclusion of this battle, of course is
the victory of Yaakov who pins the angel down and gets a blessing from- the
biblical form of crying uncle, yet he is wounded. The angel had struck him in
his thigh and he now had a limp. The Torah thus gives us a commandment- the
second only to circumcision that is mentioned before the giving of the Torah
for the Jewish people for ages. It is the prohibition to eat the Gid
Ha’Nasheh- the sciatic nerve which pretty much knocks off most of the back
half of the cow that we have since then traditionally not eaten. ”Therefore
the children of Israel shall not eat the Gid Hanashe which is on the thigh
until this very day for he (the angel) injured the thigh of Yaakov in the Gid
Ha’Nasheh. No filet mignon for the Jews.

Now why
would we commemorate this incredible victory- the only of its kind against a
divine being- with not eating something? If I was writing this law I would probably
proscribe some angel-hair pasta, some thank heaven for 7-11 Slurpees perhaps
and maybe some Devil Dogs (we will miss you Drake’s cakes-so we will go to
angel’s bakery of course). But Hashem doesn’t consult with me. So it is up to
us to figure out what is this all about. Thankfully, our sages don’t leave us
hanging and the Chizkuni- the 13th century French commentator
suggests an interesting idea. The reason why we commemorate this battle with
the prohibition to eat is so that the children of Israel will always remember
to never leave another Jew alone. The angel’s power, this precursor of all
battles that Israel will have for eternity only poses a danger to us and they
can only harm us if we are on our own. Our strength and the Jewish people’s
power to bring down the Divine assistance we need to overcome is only if we
stand before our father as a nation united. His family. Our family. Whenever we
sit down to prepare a festive meal and we slaughter an animal for a good steak,
we remember Yaakov who was left behind by his sons to fight for himself. We can
never “eat the whole cow” if there is even one Jew we are leaving
behind. It is that message that we are meant to internalize from this 1st
of our historic battles.

We have
learned this lesson for the large part I hope. I received the following E-Mail
this week that I share with you from a recent soldier from the recent Pillar of
Cloud/defense operation and battle in Gaza.

“It's nearly 3 AM, the cease fire was
announced 30 hours ago,I've been home
for 7 hours already, but I'm still restless. I cannot sleep. The thoughts and
feelings fill my mind...

I
was called in from my studies to help my brigade prepare for the ground
entrance to the Gaza Strip as part of operation Pillar of Defense. I spent a
week in the field, since last Friday. Although we didn't go in, I returned home
full of strength. I had the privilege to be out in the field and see true unity
amongst Am Yisrael and an army that is not only strong militarily but strong in
spirit. I met and worked with many soldiers and commanders, all with deep faith
that we are doing the right thing. I saw hundreds of soldiers dance hugged in a
huge circle, singing "Am Yisrael Chai" and "the nation of
eternity isn't afraid of a long journey". I saw commanders draw power and
faith out of this amazing scene.

Under my command were a few reserve soldiers,
all 10 years older than me and more. They were part of tens of thousands that
enlisted to their units until the enlistment count stood at 120% percent.
Doctors, students, fathers, high-tech engineers, meat seller, they came from
all over to protect our nation and country. I met truck and mobile drivers who
drove over 10 hours from north to south, back and forth, again and again, just
so we can have our armed vehicles to go in. All they asked for was "Go in,
do your job, and let us have some quiet finally". I met volunteers who
supported us with hot soup, drinks and goodies as we waited in the field for
the order that never came. I met brave residents of Southern Israel, who taught
me what true courage and power is. Can you imagine living under fire for 12
years??

A month ago I returned from our
honeymoon in India. I told people that within 2 months I saw true unity in Am
Yisrael. There, in the Far East, and here, underfire. My question is why can't we be so
united at normal times, on daily basis? Why can't we gather around the same
values we truly share, even if deep inside? Why can't we respect and treat each
other as brother unless it's in the middle of nowhere, or in time of crisis? It
starts with each and every one of us. Can we try being nicer to each other? Can
we try harder to respect each other's views and opinions, even if they
contradict our own? Can I treat every Jew as my brother, even if he wears black,
or doesn't wear a Kippa\Yarmalka, if he's dark skinned or if he prays
differently than I do? If he has long hair and piercings, or if he has long
Peot?Can I try understanding what
bothers him, what hurts him, so I can avoid doing so? Can I truly CARE about
someone who is from my nation, even if we are different and sometimes it looks
like we're not so connected? The change starts with YOU, with ME, with US, in
the small, daily actions and reactions. No politician can promise or do it, it
is only up to us. Thank you for protecting and fighting for us worldwide all
around the media, social networks and out on the streets, helping justice win
and revealing evil lies. I'm proud to be part of this nation, and part of a
unique and moral army. May we be blessed with these unique feelings every day,
and not only in times of crisis?”

Shabbat
Shalom

Yaakov
Selavan

Lieutenant,
IDF Armored Corps

Yackov I dream together with you of that day. May
Hashem help us get there soon together.

Lido Junction- Right at the intersection of route 1 from Jerusalem and route 90
towards the Dead Sea one comes to an incredible break in the mountain range of
the Judean Desert which then continues all the way up to the hills of Shomron
known as Matzuk HaÉtikim. As this is the only break it was the major crossroads
for generations to cross the Dead Sea into Jerusalem. Until 1967 this was of
course under Jordanian control. After the war when Israel restored this part of
our country to us we actually had Palestinians build the road giving employment
to our newest “ Israeli” citizens. Diagonally across from the gas station one
can see the ruins of a former resteraunt that used to be on the banks of the
Dead Sea which has since receeded due to Israelis and Jordanians taking out
water from the Jordan river which meet the Dead Sea and this uppermost portion
of it. It was here the original Dead Sea Plants were started in the early 1920’s
to mine the minerals and Potash from the Sea which only later moved to the
Southern part of the Yam. You can also check out the incredible re-creation of
the Crusader period map of all of Israel that was painted on the walls of this restaurant
and make out names of ancient Israel cities. Don’t leave the intersection of
course without stopping for a camel-ride from one of the Bedouin youths with
their camels that are waiting to give your backside a feel of the true desert
experience.

RABBI
SCHWARTZES TOUR GUIDE COURSE QUESTION OF THE WEEK

(answer
below)

The tunnel well (fugarot) site is the northernmost limit
of the distribution of the

Winter thorn(Shita malbina)(a)

(b) Doum Palm (Dekel Ha’Dom)

(c) Sodom’s Apple (tapuach Sodom)

(d) Accacia strap flower (Harnug
haShittim)

RABBI SCHWARTZES QUOTE OF THE
WEEK

Before you criticize someone, you should
walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them you're a mile
away and you have their shoes.

Answer

Answer
is C- Dekel Ha’dom in the bottom of the Arava valley outside of Eilat where
incidentally Rabin and King Hussein met to sign the Jordanian peace accords in
1994 with Bill Clinton the second only country to do so after Egypt.

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About Me

Hi, thanks for popping in. I am a recent Oleh. My wife Aliza and children Shani, Yonah, Rivkah, Elka and Tully recently moved to Karmiel Israel from Seattle Washington where we used to have a little Shul in our home the West Seattle TLC (Torah Learning Center). I have been involved in Jewish educational outreach for over 15 years. Originally a Detroiter, we have been lucky enough to live in Midwood New York, Des Moines Iowa, Norfolk Virginia and Seattle. I'm just a down to earth guy who would rather talk in the front of the shul than the back so i became a Rabbi where that becomes your job. I love Jews,Stories, Israel, and chulent. Recently we opened up the Young Israel of Karmiel and look forward to greeting the many North American and Anglo Olim who will join us here in the beautiful Galil.
Please comment away I thrive on your input. Thanks!

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